Ceilings and the like



June 18, 1963 F. WILLIAMS 3,094,201

CEILINGS AND THE LIKE Filed July 14, 1959 United States Patent Office 3,094,201 Patented June 18, 1963 3,094,201 CEILINGS AND THE LIKE Frederick Williams, 23 Collins Ave., Norton, Stocktou-on-Tees, England Filed July 14, 1959, Ser. No. 826,964 Claims priority, application Great Britain July 14, 1958 2 Claims. (Cl. 18988) This invention relates to ceilings and the like which are made of plasterboard, hardboard or similar materials.

An object of the invention is to mount these materials, which are hereinafter referred to as board, in such a way that the exposed surface, e.g. the undersurface of a ceiling, may be satisfactorily finished with a thin skim coat of plaster applied in the fluid state.

According to the invention, there is provided a support for supporting board as herein defined upon a supporting rail having at least one flange, said support including a spring clip having two limbs joined to each other so that the clip has a substantially U-shaped crosssection and is capable of engaging said flange; a slot in one limb of said clip at an angle to the outermost edge of the limb; and a board-retaining device having a web member capable of entering said slot, and a flange member substantially at right angles to the web member capable of being gripped between said rail-flange and the slotted limb of the spring clip.

For the sake of simplicity, the invention will be described in connection with its application to ceilings, but it will be appreciated that the invention can also be used in other connections, e.g. walls and partitions.

If the supporting rail is at right angles to the margin of the board to be supported, as is generally the case, the slot in the spring clip is perpendicular to the outermost edge of the limb. But if the supporting rail crosses the board at a skew angle, the slot in the spring clip must be cut at a corresponding angle to the edge of the limb. In order to support two adjacent boards, two retaining devices, one for each board, may be placed back to back in one slot. A prefer-red form of board-retaining device, which can be used with boards of different thicknesses and which can be used in a skew support without the need for cutting a specially-inclined slot in the spring clip, is shown in the embodiment of the invention described in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the support from above showing the concealed surface of a ceiling.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along the line A--A of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 shows a spring clip viewed from below.

FIG. 4 shows the preferred form. of board-retaining device.

FIG. 5 shows the device of FIG. 4 in position in the spring clip of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows a portion of the exposed or lower surface of the ceiling after final adjustment of the retaining device.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a supporting rail 1 has at least one flange 2. The rail 1 may have the section shown, or may have any convenient section such as I, L or inverted T. A spring clip 3 (see also FIG. 3) of substantially U-shaped cross-section has a slot 4 in its lower limb at right angles to the outermost edge 5 of the limb. To facilitate pushing the clip 3 onto the flange 2, the upper limb of the clip 3- is curved outwardly at 6.

The preferred form of board-retaining device shown in FIG. 4 consists of a length of wire, preferably galvanised, having its two end lengths 7, 8 parallel and adjacent to one another so as to form a web 9, the wire being bent so as to form a loop 10 in a plane at right angles to the plane of the web 9. The wire is so bent that said plane of the web 9 (that is, the plane containing the axes of the end lengths 7 and 8) intersects perpendicularly the flange constituted by the loop 10.

When the clip 3 has been pushed on to the flange 2, the web 9 of the retaining device is passed through the slot 4 of the clip 3 so that the loop 10 is gripped between the flange 2 and the lower limb of the clip 3, and the web 9 and the end lengths 7, 8 projecting in a downward direction. The board 1 1 to be supported is provided with a slot 12 cut inwardly from the margin of the board, which receives the web 9. When the board 11 is in position, the end lengths 7, 8 are bent over against the surface of the board as shown in FIG. 6 and indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 1, thereby retaining the board 11 in position.

The number of spring clips and retaining devices used to keep a board in position will depend on the size and weight of the board. Two boards 11, 11 may be held adjacent to each other by using a supporting r-ail having two flanges 2, 2. The spring clips for the two boards may be positioned opposite each other, as indicated in FIG. 6, or they may be staggered as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The spring clips 3 may conveniently be made of spring steel thick, and measure 1" along the base, from which the limbs may extend for n". The spring clips should also be rustproofed.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letter-s Patent is:

1. A device for supporting, upon a nail having at least one flange and a web perpendicular to said flange, a board as herein defined, and locating said board with an edge thereof beneath said flange, said board having at least one slot there-in at an angle to its said edge, said support comprising in combination a spring clip having two limbs joined to each other so that the clip has a substantially U-shaped cross-section resiliently engageable about said flange, a slot in one limb of said clip at an angle to the outermost edge of the limb, and a boardretaining element having a flange adapted to be gripped between and parallel to said rail-flange and said slotted limb of the spring clip, a web member integral with said flange adapted to project substantially at right angles to said flange through said slot in said slotted limb and also through said slot in said board which bears by one plane surface against said slotted limb, and at least one end portion of said web member adapted for bending into engagement parallel with the other plans surface of said board.

2. A device for supporting, upon a rail having at least one flange and a web perpendicular to said flange, a board as herein defined, and locating said board with an edge thereof in the plane of said web, said board having at least one slot therein at an angle to its said edge, said support comprising in combination a spring clip having two limbs joined to each other so that the clip has a substan tially U-shaped cross-section resiliently engageable about said flange, a slot in one limb of said clip at an angle to the outermost edge of the limb, and a board-retaining element comprising a length of wire having its middle portion bent into a loop to constitute a flange adapted to be gripped between and parallel to said rail-flange and the slotted limb of the spring clip, two wire ends projecting from said loop in juxtaposition with the axes of said wire ends in a plane which intersects perpendicularly said flange loop to constitute a web member adapted to project sub- 3 4 stantially at right angles to said flange through said slot in References Cited in the file of this patent said slotted limb and also through said slot in said board UNITED STATES PATENTS which bears by one plane surface against said slotted limb, said wire ends being of such length as to project beyond 1923906 Berger 1933 the other plane surface of said board and to be turned in 5 FOREIGN PATENTS opposite directions from the plane of said web into en- 538,811 Great Britain Aug. '18, 1941 gagement parallel with said other surface of said board. 999,517 France Oct. 3, 1951 

1. A DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING, UPON A RAIL HAVING AT LEAST ONE FLANGE AND A WEB PERPENDICULAR TO SAID FLANGE, A BOARD AS HEREIN DEFINED, AND LOCATING SAID BOARD WITH AN EDGE THEREOF BENEATH SAID FLANGE, SAID BOARD HAVING AT LEAST ONE SLOT THEREIN AT AN ANGLE TO ITS SAID EDGE, SAID SUPPORT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A SPRING CLIP HAVING TWO LIMBS JOINED TO EACH OTHER SO THE THE CLIP HAS A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED CROSS-SECTION RESILIENTLY ENGAGEABLE ABOUT SAID FLANGE, A SLOT IN ONE LIMB OF SAID CLIP AT AN ANGLE TO THE OUTERMOST EDGE OF THE LIMB, AND A BOARDRETAINING ELEMENT HAVING A FLANGE ADAPTED TO BE GRIPPED BETWEEN AND PARALLEL TO SAID RAIL-FLANGE AND SAID SLOTTED LIMB OF THE SPRING CLIP, A WEB MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH SAID FLANGE ADAPTED TO PROJECT SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID FLANGE THROUGH SAID SLOT IN SAID SLOTTED LIMB AND ALSO THROUGH SAID SLOT IN SAID BOARD WHICH BEARS BY ONE PLANE SURFACE AGAINST SAID SLOTTED LIMB, AND AT LEAST ONE END PORTION OF SAID WEB MEMBER ADAPTED FOR BENDING INTO ENGAGEMENT PARALLEL WITH THE OTHER PLANE SURFACE OF SAID BOARD. 